State-Level Variation Seen in 10-Year Cardiac Disease Risk

(HealthDay News) — The predicted 10-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) varies by age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income, and state, according to a study published online November 10 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Quanhe Yang, PhD, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues used the updated nonlaboratory-based Framingham CVD Risk Score to estimate the state-specific 10-year risk of developing CVD. Data were included for 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System participants aged 30 to 74 years.

The researchers found that the age-standardized mean CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke risk scores were 14.6, 10.4, and 2.3%, respectively, among men, and 7.5, 4.5, and 1.8%, respectively, among women. There were significant increases in risk scores with age, and the risk scores were highest among non-Hispanic blacks, those with less than high school education, and households with incomes <$35,000. There was considerable variation in state-specific age-standardized CVD, CHD, and stroke risk scores, from lows in Utah (13.2, 9.6, and 2.1%, respectively) to highs in Louisiana (16.2, 11.7, and 2.6%, respectively) among men, and from lows in Minnesota (6.3, 3.8, and 1.5%, respectively) to highs in Mississippi (8.7, 5.3, and 2.1%, respectively) among women.

"These results support the development and implementation of targeted prevention programs by states to address the risk of developing CVD, CHD, and stroke among their populations," the authors write.